Monday, August 30, 2010

My Baby's 14!

Where has all the time gone!!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Market Ready ?

I’m stuck in a dilemma of sorts. How do you know when to stop? I mean edits of course. I found a great article in “the Writer” magazine that addressed this. Submit is a word we writers use all the time. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means? I hadn’t. Pop in the mail and sit back and wait doesn’t even come close.

Submit means to lie down, give up or surrender. Wow! Now that’s what I feel like. I’ve gone over and over this WIP till my fingers ache and my eyes cross. At this point, I’m just rearranging or searching for a word that might make the sentence a bit more powerful. But the truth is, the story is finished. I don’t intend to change it. I must submit.

According to the article by William Kowalski, I’ve reached the state of mind a novelist must enter before deciding my work is ready. I guess I should be excited about this, right? It couldn't come at a better time. The kids will be going back to school soon. That means I'll have more time to research agents and publishers. Until then, I’m going to sleep on it and see if I come up with a reason not to just surrender and take that next step with all I've got. :)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Conference Time!

The Lone Star Writer’s Conference

DATE: October 16, 2010

LOCATION:

Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint
255 N Sam Houston Parkway East
Houston, Texas 77060

Telephone: 281-875-4000

$69.00/night - Direct Link for reservations:
https://resweb.passkey.com/go/NWHoustonRomanceWriters


Richard Dix
Event Manager
Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint

REGISTRATION FEE: $120.00

Scheduled Highlights coming soon!

***First 35 to register will be invited to a special Meet and Greet Reception on Friday, October 15, 2010.

SPEAKERS AND AGENT LINEUP to date:


Keynote Speaker:

Randy Ingermanson - was both the class clown and the class nerd in high school. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from UC Berkeley and then went on to publish six novels and win about a dozen awards for his writing. His most recent book is "Writing Fiction For Dummies." Randy is known around the world as "the Snowflake Guy" in honor of his widely used Snowflake method for writing a novel. He is the publisher of the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, which has over 21,000 subscribers. He has a wife and three daughters, and works full-time serving the needs of three tyrannical cats. Visit his web site at http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.


Christine Witthohn – Luncheon Speaker
Book Cents Literary Agency - “How to maximize your chances of getting published or staying published in this volatile market.”
***


Agents:


Naomi Hackenberg
Elaine P. English, PLLC
www.elaineenglish.com

Naomi Hackenberg joined The Elaine English Literary Agency in 2008, where she began by assisting with the agency’s commercial fiction projects and selling foreign translation rights. She is currently building her own list and is actively seeking commercial manuscripts with strong writing, stand-out narrative voices and compelling characters. In addition to reading (of course!), Naomi likes cooking and going to baseball games. Naomi’s academic background is in American Studies and Creative Writing, and she holds a Bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University and a Master’s degree from The University of Chicago. She’s an associate member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives and a member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.


Naomi will be looking for manuscripts for herself and Elaine English at the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Writer’s Conference. She’s looking for young adult fiction of all ilk (including contemporary, romance, dystopian, multicultural, paranormal with a brand-new hook, normal protagonists in paranormal worlds, etc.); romance (historical, contemporary, sweet, erotica, dark and gothic, multicultural, paranormal, etc., but not time-travel or inspirational); women’s fiction; mysteries of all types; psychological, legal and medical thrillers with believable characters and well-constructed plots. Naomi is not seeking non-fiction or picture books. Above all, she’s looking for a strong narrative voice and unique, well-paced plot that keeps her up past her bedtime just to find out what happens next.

Amy Boggs –

Donald Maass Literary Agency
www.maassagency.com

Amy is an associate agent at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Born and raised in Utah, Amy came to New York to attend Vassar College and pursue a career in publishing. During college, she worked at a children's bookstore, a library, and a quarterly magazine, as well as interning at a literary agency. After a short stint at a psychology magazine, Amy joined DMLA as an intern. She is now actively building her list looking for fantasy and science fiction, especially urban fantasy, paranormal romance, steampunk, YA/children's, and alternate history. Historical fiction, multi-cultural fiction, Westerns, and works that challenge their genre are also welcome.


Christine Witthohn
Book Cents Literary Agency
www.bookcentsliteraryagency.com

Christine Witthohn is a literary agent and the founder of Book Cents Literary Agency. She is one of the main sponsors of the International Women’s Fiction Festival held annually in Matera, Italy, and has strong ties to the international market. She is member of AAR, RWA, MWA and is actively building her client list. She is on the hunt for well-written commercial and women’s fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and would love to find some great new YA projects. Christine is looking for: middle grade, young adult, mystery/suspense, thrillers, romance: contemporary, rom coms, paranormal, fantasy.
Christine is NOT looking for: inspirational, westerns, sci fi, horror, erotica, or poetry.